AP file photoPresident Barack Obama looks over the new Chevy Volt, with Teri Quigley, right, Assembly Manager, as he tours the General Motors Auto Plant in Hamtramck, Michigan on July 30, 2010.

General Motors hasn't exactly kept the Chevrolet Volt under wraps. In three years since introducing the concept at the Detroit Auto Show, the automaker has paraded its upcoming electric offering around like Miss America, complete with public appearances, celebrity photo ops and occassional pandering to the papparazzi.

GM already has let a few notable skeptics and several well-known critics get behind the wheel, and while some have complained about the price tag -- $33,500 after an available federal tax credit -- the early reviews have been positive.

Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press recenlty spent an afternoon driving one through rurual and suburban Oakland and Livingston counties, noting the drive, range and charging time impressed.

Oct. 9, Freep.com: It's fun to drive, practical, good-looking and in a league of its own technically. The sleek compact accelerates briskly. Its handling is responsive and sporty. The interior provides plenty of space and comfort for four adults.

Other electric cars have to stop and plug in for hours when their batteries are drained, but the Volt's generator keeps it rolling -- a differentiator that's going to challenge rivals such as the Nissan Leaf.

Steven Cole Smith of the Orlando Sentinel spent an afternoon in a pre-production Volt and called it "an undeniable engineering coup for GM."

Oct. 3, OrlandoSentinel.com: The biggest surprise may be how well the Volt handles — it is, after all, quite heavy for a small car, since it carries all the bits and pieces of both an electric and a gasoline-powered vehicle. But the T-shaped battery pack is placed very low in the chassis, and the lower the extra weight is, the better. Only on a fast, tight turn — such as a cloverleaf on an interstate — do you really feel that extra weight.

Expect reviews to come fast and furious -- and in much greater detail -- in coming days. The Detroit News reports more than 150 auto critics will hit Metro Detroit this week to accept a unique offer from GM: Show up, and we'll hand you the keys.

The two-day media program will allow journalists numerous chances to drive the car, a visit the Detroit-Hamtramck facility where it's built and a tour of GM's Warren tech center.

"This is a coming out party," Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal and GreenCar.com told the newspaper. “So much focus has been directed at the Volt. This an extraordinarily high-profile launch."

The Today Show is even expected to get in on the action, offering a Volt review Monday morning.

Of course, GM isn't banking on positive reviews just to sell cars. The automaker is also hoping to sell shares in coming months. While Volt production numbers will be limited to start, the automaker isn't shy about promoting the electric vehicle as a sign of its forward thinking and potential profits.

GM mentions the Volt no less than 22 times it its registration for an initial public stock offering, according to the Free Press, primarily as an example of new technology developments. And as the newspaper notes, the Volt is expected to go on sale in Mid-November and could, conveniently enough, hit the market the same week as GM's IPO.